Patriots go on the offensive in draft

Six of the team's nine picks, including five of seven on Saturday, were on that side of the ball. Three of the six were skill position players, while the other three were big bodies added to an offensive line that hadn't been addressed in the draft since 2011.

Six of the nine picks the team exercised were on that side of the ball, including five of their seven selections on Saturday.

“I feel like we improved our team today,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “We had seven picks and we got them in clumps there, but I feel like we were able to take some players that will be able to compete. We’ll see how it all goes.”

Three of the six additions on offense were skill position players, one of them a quarterback. There were three big bodies added to the line, an area that hadn’t been addressed in the draft since Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon were selected in 2011.

Through it all, though, one area on that side of the ball that needed attention – a tight end position that has become troublesome with Rob Gronkowski’s never-ending health issues – wasn’t addressed.

And if you were looking for the safety position alongside Devin McCourty to be addressed in the wake of Steve Gregory’s release earlier this offseason, well, it looks like 2013 third-round draft pick Duron Harmon’s your guy.

When all was said and done, here’s what the Patriots brass had to show for its time in the draft room at Gillette:

The heavy accent on Saturday was on the offensive line where, in Stork, Fleming and Halapio, 938 pounds of humanity were added.

“It just turned out that way, pretty much where the value was,” said Belichick. “Halapio’s been a real good player at Florida. I’d say we were probably a little bit surprised to see where he was. Then Fleming’s a tackle and that was we felt like good value there and Stork’s been a good center for Florida State.

“We visited him. He was an impressive kid. So it just kind of turned out that way.”

There’s no debating the fact that the Patriots kicked off their draft on Thursday night by addressing an area of need with the selection of Easley in the first round, but all they had to do was look to Notre Dame for a couple of safer options (Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt) than a guy who tore up both his knees in college.

Page 2 of 2 - So long as Tom Brady’s standing, Garoppolo’s selection on Friday night may have been a luxury a team with more pressing needs couldn’t afford at this time; then again, given Ryan Mallett’s apparent lack of development over three years, maybe it was a need that could no longer be ignored.

In an ideal world in Foxboro, Garoppolo won’t play until the 36-year-old (37 in August) Brady’s contract expires in 2017, but his mere presence may provide the Patriots with the kind of insurance that Mallett has not.

White offers precisely that – insurance – at a position where running backs Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden will all be in their contract years in 2014.

“We’ll get those guys going this week,” Belichick said of the draft class, which is scheduled to be flying into New England today, “and see how it all comes together with that group.”

Glen Farley may be reached at gfarley@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GFarley_ent.